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Osprey Rehires Former CEO Hamerschlag

Published April 27, 2011

CORTEZ, CO (BRAIN)—Osprey Packs has named Erik Hamerschlag as their new product line manager. He is rejoining Osprey, where he held several leadership positions from 1994 through 2001, after nine years with Mountain Hardwear, Inc.

During his first tenure with Osprey, Hamerschlag was instrumental in establishing the brand as an innovative technical pack company. He joined Osprey in 1994 as business manager and over the next seven years helped guide it through a tremendous growth period in which sales more than doubled and the employee count grew by more than 50 percent. He became marketing manager in 1996, and served as CEO from 1999 through 2001.

After leaving Osprey, Hamerschlag spent nine years with Mountain Hardwear as product manager, guiding product strategy and managing design and development processes for a diverse range of products, including backpacks, sleeping bags, tents, gloves and gaiters.

As Osprey product line manager, Hamerschlag is responsible for collaborating with the company’s highly creative design team to identify market opportunities and create innovative, successful products. He will be based out of Osprey’s design studio in Mill Valley, California, with several trips per year to the Osprey headquarters in Cortez, Colorado, and the company’s product development office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

“We are thrilled to welcome Erik back to Osprey and to benefit from his extensive outdoor product line creation experience and keen market analysis and strategic planning skills,” said Tom Barney, CEO of Osprey Packs.

“I’m most excited to be back working with Osprey founder Mike Pfotenhauer because he’s the best there is. Designing and developing new product with him is always equal parts challenge and fun,” Hamerschlag said. “My time with Mountain Hardwear has given me useful experience with the challenges faced as a company grows larger and becomes more complex. I hope to help Osprey continue to grow into exactly the kind of company we all want it to be.”